The early days as Godzilla
Joe Duplantier, 19, and his brother Mario, 14, form the band in Ondres with guitarist Christian Andreu. They open for bands like Cannibal Corpse and grind through demos and local shows.
Band history
Ondres, Landes · 1996 – today
Four kids from the Landes rehearsing in a barn. Thirty years later, the same band performs at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games. Gojira's story isn't one of a meteoric rise, it's one of quiet determination, built album after album, show after show, never straying from their path.
1996 2001 A forced name change
After Roland Emmerich's remake, "Godzilla" becomes a worldwide trademark. The band adopts Gojira, the Japanese pronunciation of the same word. Jean-Michel Labadie joins on bass, the definitive line-up is set.
2002 The barn becomes a studio
The band buys a ruined barn in the Landes countryside and renovates it over two years. It becomes their headquarters: a tool of independence as much as a home, where they record their albums at their own pace.
2005 From Mars to Sirius, the breakthrough
With this third album, Gojira breaks through internationally and fully embraces its ecological message. The band develops a recognizable language: squealing pinch-harmonic riffs, progressive structures, lyrics about nature and the human condition.
2006 Conquering the United States
Gojira tours the US alongside bands like Children of Bodom, Behemoth and Lamb of God. They become one of the first French metal bands to tour both sides of the Atlantic on their own name.
2012 Stade de France with Metallica
Gojira opens for Metallica at the Stade de France in front of tens of thousands. A pivotal moment: the four from the Landes facing the biggest stage of their career, in their own country.
2014 New York, the Silver Cord Studio
The Duplantier brothers move to New York and build their own studio in Queens: Silver Cord Studio. A new geographical chapter, but the same DNA: control everything, do everything yourself, depend on no one.
2016 Magma, grief as material
Joe and Mario lose their mother. Rather than pausing the music, they make it the backbone of Magma, a more concise, stripped-down, almost intimate album. The band hides nothing: grief becomes art.
2021 Fortitude, and lasting commitment
The first French band to top the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart. But what stands out is the consistency: the single Amazonia comes with a fundraising campaign for Brazil's indigenous peoples. The ecological commitment dates back to the beginning, long before fame.
2024 Paris Olympics, and a Grammy
On July 26, 2024, Gojira performs from the Conciergerie during the Olympic opening ceremony, alongside mezzo-soprano Marina Viotti. The first metal band ever to play at an Olympics opening. The piece wins the 2025 Grammy for Best Metal Performance.
2026 An 8th album, a tour with Metallica
A new album is expected, and Gojira is set to support Metallica again on their European stadium tour, like in 2012, but this time as an established band at the peak of its craft.
What makes Gojira unique
Gojira fits no box. Technical death metal, progressive metal, groove metal, the band created its own dialect. Squealing, almost animal pinch-harmonic riffs. Mario's drumming is both precise and alive, syncopated, tribal. Labadie's bass holds the structure without ever fading into the background. What strikes you is the dynamics: building tension, letting it explode, then letting it breathe. The lyrics weave together ecology, death, the cosmos and the human condition, with no slogans or dogma.